"Amen," I thought when I saw the guilty verdict against Libby pop up on the Internet this afternoon. That's one sleazeball down - out of many occupying the Bush White House. As Dave Lindorf noted on Common Dreams, if we have a press with any integrity left, this will be just a starting point for outing the rest of the thugs and liars running the executive branch. Regarding the Libby verdict, I also saw where Cursor.org picked up this prescient warning from Media Matters about lies in the media to watch out for.And then I made the mistake of tuning in to ATC as they came storming out of the dugout to see what damage control they could effect for Bush-Cheney. Within minutes of the guilty verdict, someone at NPR must have been busy on the phone seeking out one of their many go-to right wing extremists. They rounded up one of their favorites, Dan Goure of the Lexington Institute (interestingly NPR has run into trouble with this creep before).
Here are a few of the whoppers that Goure, who at least is identified as a former employee of Libby's, is allowed to air without any challenge:
- "We now know that neither he nor Cheney first outed Ms. Plame.
- "No one in the Vice President’s was responsible for the leak."
- "Cheney did not leak."
- "...a miscarriage of justice."
Whatever the reason, the fact is that the crucial first commentary NPR airs on the case, the first impression that its listeners get, is one that is fully loaded with misinformation favoring Bush and Cheney - and that is really sickening.
Added Wed. am: For a refresher on the whole sordid Libby-Bush-Cheney-Rove affair take a look at Juan Cole's Wed. post here.
6 comments:
Wed's ME in fact had David Corn. All he said was:Journalists forget things. That was it, no substance, no depth, no context. Evenhanded, isn't it?
I worked with Dan on several projects in the mid-90s. While I was busy writing, Dan would spend his time lecturing our team on "the way the world really worked". Dan is an insecure person who could not deal with silence or, for that matter, with intellectual conflict. That he ended up a professional sycophant is not surprising.
Shorter Dan Goure:
Your honor, I was in the front passenger's seat when the officer pulled us over. There was no need to administer a breathalyser test. Scooter Libby is a nice guy, and it was all a misunderstanding.
Everyone, save your blood pressure and do *not* look at Fred Hiatt's wanker bullshit in the WaPo this morning.
I would expect that David Corn's comments were 'judiciously edited'. It's all part of the woeful censorship we are surrounded by today. Such as the Fox News headline: 'SCOOTER LIBBY NOT GUILTY' (of lying to the FBI).
For the real David Corn, I'll stick to 'The Nation' for my source.
That's it! I'm outta the whole NPR thing. Their stenography for the Bush administration, the endless airtime they devote to spinmeisters and just their generally lazy hackery has finally worn me out. Life is too short to spend it screaming at the van radio. So my vanpool now has voted for: Stephanie Miller in the morning and Deutsche Welle/BBC news in the evening (KXOT-FM in Tacoma). I'll continue to support my local station, but I let them know I don't listen to NPR anymore, after 25 years of listening. I know this may be pointless, but I just think there are far better ways to find out what's really happening in the world. If I ever really need to hear what the Beltway CW is, I can always tune in Monday morning for La Cokie's 5 minutes.
'Course, I'll still follow NPR check just to see if things ever change.
I totally understand, bluetaco. I myself still dabble just a bit in the turgid NPR brew a few times a week, but once you're 'off the stuff', it gets easier and easier to resist the temptation to get back into the old NPR anger rut again. Especially when there are so many alternatives out there, which you mention. Not having to listen to Scott Simon on Saturday mornings is one of life's truly liberating experiences! Also, it's important for me to keep up with this blog, just to see how far NPR is pushing things. Granted, I'm regularly appalled, but I think my perspective is a healthier one now, and is not so mired in the frustration of enduring NPR's games. Not for the last time do I take my hat off to Mytwords, for listening to NPR, so I don't have to. Now THAT'S a real public service!
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